Vatican Looks into Possibility of Establishing a Secretariat of Communications

Vatican Insider
May 3, 2014

http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/the-vatican/detail/articolo/vaticano-vatican-lombardi-33873/

A Secretariat of Communications. As part of the plans to reorganise the Curia, the Vatican is looking into the possibility of introducing a central coordination body along the lines of the Vatican structure for the Economy. All communications sections (which are currently split into various Curia offices: press office, Pontifical Council for Social Communications, CTV, Vatican radio, L’Osservatore Romano) would be centralized and grouped into one single entity.

Last Wednesday, Vatican spokesman, Fr. Federico Lombardi, spoke at the professional seminar held by the Faculty of Institutional Communications at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross on the theme: “Creative Strategies for Promoting Cultural Change”. In his speech – a summary of which was given by Vatican Radio – he announced an update to the communication of the Holy Father’s message to the world. And so we have yet seen everything: there are still many things we have to learn and see.”

The various consultancy firms (Ernst & Young, KPMG, PriecewaterhouseCooper's, Deloitte, McKinsey and Promontory Financial Group) that were tasked with preparing reports on a series of questions, from accountancy systems, to hospital management, the IOR and mass media, will soon be publishing their findings. One single body, the Pontifical Commission for Reference on the Organisation of the Economic-Administrative Structures of the Holy See (COSEA), headed by Joseph F.X. Zahra, will collect these findings and present them to Pope Francis for a final evaluation.

The Vatican structural reform process continues therefore and specific decisions are expected to be taken on individual subjects (communications in this case) which may be announced earlier. This is what happened in the economic sphere with the establishment of the Secretariat for the Economy headed by Cardinal George Pell, the “super-minister of finance”, the Council for the Economy coordinated by German cardinal Reinhard Marx (both members of the “C8”) and with the confirmation of the IOR’s mission. The IOR is to stay and will continue to provide specialist financial services” to the Church.

The Curia dicasteries are also being re-examined: the Pope and the C8 are placing each and every one of the Pontifical Councils under the looking glass, taking into consideration all the various proposals for merging and simplifying the structures.

The “C8” meeting that has just come to an end is the fourth one following the sessions held in October, December and February. A fifth meeting has been scheduled for 4 July. Now the eight-member Council of Cardinals will need to finish discussing what to do with the Congregations and the Pontifical Councils, as well as the possible creation of the “moderator Curiae” figure to coordinate the various offices. The suggestion for the new position was made during the meetings held before the last Conclave, in a draft presented by Cardinal Francesco Coccopalmerio, head of the dicastery for Legislative Texts. The possibility of creating a Congregation for the Laity that would collect together and merge some of the Pontifical Councils, is also being examined.